Recent trips by Indiana University delegations to Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be the topic of a forum being presented by IU Vice President for International Affairs David Zaret.

The IU School of Global and International Studies is co-sponsoring the event.

Following Zaret's talk, there will be opportunities for questions and informal conversation with members of the IU delegation.

In September, Zaret accompanied IU President Michael A. McRobbie on a historic weeklong visit to Turkey, where he met with the nation's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and two of his three children who are IU graduates. IU formalized new partnership agreements with two of Turkey's top-ranked universities and strengthened connections to several others. The university also explored opportunities to open a third global gateway office, which would serve as a central location for IU activities in Turkey.

In October, McRobbie, Zaret and another IU delegation visited Saudi Arabia, where a friendship agreement was signed with the premier institution of higher education in the Kingdom, King Saud University.

As in Turkey, McRobbie met with Saudi governmental leaders and business officials, including some who are IU alumni. Objectives for both trips included furthering IU's educational reach internationally; increased academic and research opportunities for the university's students and faculty; and strengthening one of its most effective global partnerships. The group continued on to India for the IU India Office dedication.